Razor with a movable shaving head

Abstract

A shaving razor having a handle that defines a longitudinal axis, a shaving head that defines a transverse axis, a connector assembly, and a biasing element. The connector assembly couples the handle and the head so that the head can pivot upward and downward about its transverse axis and can also move toward and away from the handle with the transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis or oblique thereto. Preferably, the biasing element is separate and spaced apart from the connector assembly and biases the head into a rest position.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to shaving razors and, more particularly, to razors with movable shaving heads that move about or on multiple axes with respect to a handle.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Because a shaving surface, for example, the face or the legs, is usually not a planar surface, it is common for a shaving razor to have a shaving head that is pivotable with respect to a razor handle to allow a user to be able to follow the contours of the shaving surface. Typically, however, a shaving razor has a razor blade carrier that is pivotable only about a single axis, which is parallel to the cutting edge of the razor blade. With such a shaving razor, the entire cutting edge of the shaving razor may not be utilized during shaving, which leads to uneven wear of the cutting edge and increases the time it takes to shave.[0003]Accordingly, a desirable feature of a shaving razor is to have a shaving head that is pivotable about multiple axes. Anothe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]The present invention is directed to a razor that includes a handle that defines a longitudinal axis, a head that carries at least one blade and defines a transverse axis parallel to the blade(s), a connector assembly, and a biasing element. The connector assembly moveably couples the handle to the head and allows the head to pivot forward and backward about an axis parallel to the transverse axis (a “pitching” movement), and also allows the head to move toward and away from the handle. The biasing element biases the head into a rest position against the forward and backward pivoting movement and against the movement toward and away from the handle. In this arrangement, when the head is out of the rest position, the transverse axis can be oblique or perpendicular with respect to the longitudinal axis depending on at least the force applied to the head. When the ends of the head are alternately moving toward and away from the handle or the transverse axis is oblique with respect to the longitudinal axis during the movement toward and away from the handle, the movement is called a rolling movement. When the transverse axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis during movement toward and away from the handle, the movement is called a cushioning movement.

[0007]In one embodiment, the connector assembly includes pins and the razor head includes cutouts for receiving the pins, wherein the cutouts have dimensions greater than the dimensions of the pins to allow the pivoting movement and the rolling and cushioning movements. More generally, a razor having a shaver head and handle which are movably coupled together may be modified in accordance with the present invention to increase the degrees of freedom of movement between the head and the handle. For instance, if the head and handle are coupled by insertion of an insertion element on one into an opening in another, the size of the opening may be increased to permit greater range of motion therein, resulting in a greater range of motion between the head and handle.

Problems solved by technology

With such a shaving razor, the entire cutting edge of the shaving razor may not be utilized during shaving, which leads to uneven wear of the cutting edge and increases the time it takes to shave.

A disadvantage to the shaving razor disclosed in Ullmo is that it requires the manufacture and assembly of a number of discrete components.

This is undesirable because it increases the manufacturing and assembly time.

Moreover, once the tabs and ears are riveted together, the blade assembly carrier and razor handle cannot readily be detached.

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